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A comprehensive assessment of plastic pollution inland, on riverbanks, along the coastline and at the sea surface in Southern Mindanao, Philippines
Abstract
The Philippines are projected to be a top contributor to oceanic plastic pollution by 2025, ranking first globally for riverine plastic emissions. However, comprehensive empirical data on litter leakage is lacking, impeding accurate estimates and mitigation efforts. We conducted the first thorough assessment of plastic within a 100 km radius of Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines using a stratified random sampling design. We detected 13,970 debris items across 309 transects from 33 coastal, 27 river, and 44 inland sites, and collected 1405 debris items from 27 sea surface trawls. Riverbanks showed the highest plastic pollution densities, averaging 3.6 items per m2. Food wrappers and labels, both whole and fragmented, were the most abundant items across all site types, highlighting the Filipino “tingi” culture of buying and trading in small quantities. We recommend focusing on river hotspots and commonly reported items, particularly food packaging and sachets, to manage plastic pollution effectively.
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Plastic debris is a significant problem aesthetically, environmentally, and across food chains. Hence it is important to increase understanding of the mechanisms of how this debris is distributed and potentially managed, especially in areas such as Africa with relatively large populations and poor infrastructure. Debris can be derived from local sources (such as the resident population) or from further afield via wind or ocean currents. We investigated these by systematically measuring debris density in sites on land and on coastal sites in three regions around Africa (Cape Town, Durban and Mombasa), and compared these between and within regions. We then compared them to simulated flows of debris on currents in the surrounding ocean to hypothesize likely sources of debris. Comparisons of relative quantity and makeup of inland and coastal debris suggested different patterns at different sites. We expected the Agulhas Current (coming from Indian Ocean and east coast Africa) to be a strong source of debris and therefore have a strong effect on the arrival of debris in eastern coastal sites, and the Benguela Current (from the southern Atlantic Ocean) to have a weaker effect. However, the evidence collected here seemed mixed in support of this and was greater in support of debris coming predominantly from local sources.
As global awareness, science, and policy interventions for plastic escalate, institutions around the world are seeking preventative strategies. Central to this is the need for precise global time series of plastic pollution with which we can assess whether implemented policies are effective, but at present we lack these data. To address this need, we used previously published and new data on floating ocean plastics (n = 11,777 stations) to create a global time-series that estimates the average counts and mass of small plastics in the ocean surface layer from 1979 to 2019. Today’s global abundance is estimated at approximately 82–358 trillion plastic particles weighing 1.1–4.9 million tonnes. We observed no clear detectable trend until 1990, a fluctuating but stagnant trend from then until 2005, and a rapid increase until the present. This observed acceleration of plastic densities in the world’s oceans, also reported for beaches around the globe, demands urgent international policy interventions.
The accumulation of Mismanaged Plastic Waste (MPW) in the environment is a global concern. The amount of waste generated by countries is estimated using globally available data layers and/or empirical surveys. Unlike globally available metadata, MPW estimates based on empirical surveys allow for better visualization of amounts, potential pathways, and hotspots. A model study conducted in 2015, based on global metadata, ranked Sri Lanka in fifth position among the world’s worst mismanaged plastic offenders. However, there is significant uncertainty in the source data on waste generation and the parameters used for model prediction, such as plastic usage (5.1 kg per person per day), since Sri Lanka is predominantly a service-based country with limited plastic-based manufacturing industries. The source data for plastic usage has been derived from a very limited study, biased toward waste hotspots that have not been verified. Our empirical data has shown that population density, one of the key parameters used for global ranking, is a weak predictor of debris densities. Therefore, we argue that the given plastic leakage data and the ranking is an error. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s position in the global ranking deserves reconsideration. Further, we propose the need for model predictions that rely on global metadata to be backed by robust and unbiased designed surveys that are based on empirical data and undergo intense baseline data verification to generate more precise predictions on litter quantities.
Plastic waste increasingly accumulates in the marine environment, but data on the distribution and quantification of riverine sources required for development of effective mitigation are limited. Our model approach includes geographically distributed data on plastic waste, land use, wind, precipitation, and rivers and calculates the probability for plastic waste to reach a river and subsequently the ocean. This probabilistic approach highlights regions that are likely to emit plastic into the ocean. We calibrated our model using recent field observations and show that emissions are distributed over more rivers than previously thought by up to two orders of magnitude. We estimate that more than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global annual emissions, which range between 0.8 million and 2.7 million metric tons per year, with small urban rivers among the most polluting. These high-resolution data allow for the focused development of mitigation strategies and technologies to reduce riverine plastic emissions.
There have been a variety of attempts to model and quantify the amount of land-based waste entering the world’s oceans, most of which rely heavily on global estimates of population density as the key driving factor. Using empirical data collected in seven different countries/territories (China, Kenya, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam), we assessed a variety of different factors that may drive plastic leakage to the environment. These factors included both globally available GIS data as well as observations made at a site level. While the driving factors that appear in the best models varied from country to country, it is clear from our analyses that population density is not the best predictor of plastic leakage to the environment. Factors such as land use, infrastructure and socio-economics, as well as local site-level variables (e.g., visible humans, vegetation height, site type) were more strongly correlated with plastic in the environment than was population density. This work highlights the importance of gathering empirical data and establishing regular monitoring programs not only to form accurate estimates of land-based waste entering the ocean, but also to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of land-based interventions.
A mess of plastic
It is not clear what strategies will be most effective in mitigating harm from the global problem of plastic pollution. Borrelle et al. and Lau et al. discuss possible solutions and their impacts. Both groups found that substantial reductions in plastic-waste generation can be made in the coming decades with immediate, concerted, and vigorous action, but even in the best case scenario, huge quantities of plastic will still accumulate in the environment.
Science , this issue p. 1515 , p. 1455
Along the Viña del Mar - Concón coastal strip 11,894 litter items were collected, and grouped into 48 different categories (11 litter typologies). The average litter abundance was 0.25 items/m2, plastic items, and cigarette butts being the most common. Hazardous litter can be found along the entire study area, reaching 28.9% (3438
items of 11,894 total items collected distributed in 14 different categories), and an average of 0.071 items/m2. The application of environmental evaluation indices based on litter data, allows categorizing the study area as a clean-moderate coastal strip with some presence of hazardous litter items, and unsatisfactory environmental conditions. Studied sectors were statistically grouped into three specific types that ranged from sectors in optimal environmental conditions (Group A) to sectors in adverse environmental conditions (Group C). The typology and magnitudes of litter found along the study area suggest a combination of sources that mainly include direct activities on the beach (recreational and smoking-related) as well dumping. In the same way, sanitary waste, ocean/waterway items, and items related to surfing activities were observed. Strategies for litter management and environmental quality improvement need to be developed and enforced.
The main purpose of food packaging is to keep food contents from contaminants and damage caused by exposure to the outside world. In this day and age, remarkable changes are occurring in the applications of packaging materials, which will challenge existing materials and processes. Metals, ceramics, papers, and polymers are widely used as core materials for food packaging applications; specifically, the use of plastics or polymers is extremely common in the packaging industry. Petroleum polymers are rapidly gaining popularity in packaging applications in both the first- and second-level production of packaging materials because of their notable mechanical, thermal, and solvent-resistant properties. However, the challenges for the packaging industry in utilizing conventional polymeric materials include the nonrenewable nature of polymers and their inability to be biodegradable. Thus the concept of using bioplastics came into existence. Bioplastics are often renewable, compostable, and biodegradable. Naturally, bioplastics are not absolutely perfect; however, they may improve with the enhancement of technology such as nanotechnology and its applications in biodegradable materials. Therefore researchers and food packaging industry experts are constantly working on innovative solutions to improve packaging materials and bioplastics. The objective of this chapter is to analyze packaging materials with special attention given to some commonly used polymers including conventional polymers, biopolymers, and nanopolymers as well as diving into some well-known research and findings on this topic.
Marine debris represents a major threat for the environment. Plastic production is increasing exponentially and causing an unprecedented growth of plastic pollution entering the marine environment. Hence, a thorough assessment of debris accumulation areas is required to address the longstanding question about where is all the missing plastic. Most research on marine debris sinks to date has focused on oceanic gyres, the water column, seabeds and wildlife. Relatively little has focused on the potential of coastal areas as debris sinks. To address this knowledge gap, the spatial distribution of debris from the waterline to the backshore was modelled from a continental-scale dataset of coastal debris distribution from 635 surveys across Australia. Results showed that the distribution of debris is significantly correlated with oceanic and atmospheric processes (i.e. onshore Stokes drift and wind), and coastal usage for recreational activities (i.e. regional population and distance to the nearest road). Debris density and size increased from the waterline to the backshore, indicating that the backshore area represents an important debris sink, especially for larger sized items.
Microplastics (or MPs; < 5 mm in size) pollution is largely unstudied in the Philippines. From an environmental sustainability standpoint, it is important to understand the characteristics, abundance, and environmental fate of plastic debris of various sizes, and these include MPs that are not more easily and readily detected. In this study, we assessed the extent of MPs contamination in the sediments, waters, oysters, and selected fishes found in the rivers and coastal areas of Ticalan, Batangas, which were identified from water quality parameters as Class C and CS, respectively. The MPs were extracted from these samples by chemical digestion of the matrix, series of filtration, and separation by flotation through a density gradient to finally isolate the MPs which were not dissolved by chemical digestion. The isolated samples were imaged by optical microscopy and characterized based on their descriptive attributes. The results showed the presence of microplastics in all the samples tested, which were found mostly in the form of filaments, fragments, films, and pellets-with most showing weathered, degraded, or angular and irregular surfaces. Identification was done through spectral matching of the Fourier transform infrared spectra of isolated fragments with that of known plastics, although identification in some cases is made uncertain by possibility of degradation of the plastics in the environment. The majority of the isolates showed signature absorption bands of the C-H stretching vibrations of polyethylene-based plastics.
Microplastics are plastic fragments with dimensions of less than 5 mm. These materials are formed within bodies of water by the forces shearing on the large plastics. Ultraviolet light from sunlight also degrades plastic materials causing discoloration and disintegration into smaller, micro- or even nano-sized particles. This study reports the isolation of microplastic fragments from the Pasig River within the vicinity of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The collection of floating particulates was done by sieving the river water (flow rate = 0.31 m s−1) through a 0.35 mm mesh for 10 minutes. Through this method, 25.7 m3 of river water was sieved over three samplings. Microplastics were isolated through a series of peroxide oxidation and sedimentation methods. All microplastic fragments were viewed and photographed under a compound microscope (40–100× magnification). A total of 34 microplastic fragments with lengths ranging from 0.56 to 4.58 mm were categorized. Microplastic fragments were categorized into two categories: small (1.16 ± 0.42 mm) and large (4.13 ± 0.37 mm), based on the size distribution. The microplastic fragments isolated were partially rounded and some showed signs of discoloration indicating mechanical and photo-degradation. The presence of microplastic fragments in Pasig River indicates persistent plastic pollution from the river source (Laguna de Bay), its tributaries, as well as the communities and industries situated along the river. Programs on solid waste management especially on plastic wastes could mitigate the production of microplastics in the river.
A clean-coast index (CCI) was developed and is suggested as a tool for evaluation of the actual coast cleanliness. It measures plastic debris as a beach cleanliness indicator, in an easy way precluding bias by the assessor. Furthermore, the CCI is the measuring tool of the ''Clean Coast'' program-a new, long-term approach for cleaner beaches by various activities such as an increase in the public awareness. The CCI was proved to be a useful tool for measuring progress and the success of activities such as education campaigns, media coverage and enforcement actions. r
Plastics in the marine environment have become a major concern because of their persistence at sea, and adverse consequences to marine life and potentially human health. Implementing mitigation strategies requires an understanding and quantification of marine plastic sources, taking spatial and temporal variability into account. Here we present a global model of plastic inputs from rivers into oceans based on waste management, population density and hydrological information. Our model is calibrated against measurements available in the literature. We estimate that between 1.15 and 2.41 million tonnes of plastic waste currently enters the ocean every year from rivers, with over 74% of emissions occurring between May and October. The top 20 polluting rivers, mostly located in Asia, account for 67% of the global total. The findings of this study provide baseline data for ocean plastic mass balance exercises, and assist in prioritizing future plastic debris monitoring and mitigation strategies.
Marine plastic pollution has adversely affected different species through
entanglement and ingestion. Globally, 66% (81 of 123 species) of marine
mammals are reported to have interacted with plastic in the marine environment,
suffering negative effects. The number of marine organisms affected is expected to
rise as a function of the increasing amount of plastic in the marine environment.
With the high contribution of the Philippines to marine plastic pollution,
this study aimed to record plastic ingestion by cetaceans found in the country.
Post-mortem gastrointestinal (GI) tract examination was performed in the
Deraniyagala’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula) beached in Maco, Compostela
Valley, Philippines. A piece of coal and a 133 cm black polypropylene rope was
suspected to have caused blockage in the GI tract of the specimen. Occlusion of
GI tract by plastic is often implicated to mortality of organisms found to have
ingested the material. This study provides the first evidence of plastic ingestion
by M. hotaula and confirms the susceptibility of cetaceans to plastic ingestion in
the Philippines.
Microplastics (> 5 mm) have gained popularity in research and the public eye in recent years. This is due to the fact that they contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which pose potential risks to the environment and human health. Bivalves, which are filter feeders, are considered to be good indicators of marine pollution. In this preliminary study, Asian green mussel (Perna viridis), an example of edible bivalve, cultured in Bacoor Bay, Cavite, Philippines was subjected to qualitative analysis to determine the presence of microplastics. Through microscopic analysis, microplastics were found present in the acid-digested mussel soft tissue. A management program is suggested for policy makers and stakeholders to reduce the negative impact of microplastic pollution to both humans and the marine environment.
Reduction of marine debris requires knowledge of its sources. Sources of plastic marine debris found on six beaches of Korea were estimated. Samples larger than 25 mm were collected from 10 quadrats of 5 × 5 m for each beach in spring 2013. The total 752 items (12,255 g) of debris comprised fiber and fabric (415 items, 6,909 g), hard plastic (120 items, 4,316 g), styrofoam (93 items, 306 g), film (83 items, 464 g), foamed plastic other than styrofoam (21 items, 56 g), and other polymer (20 items, 204 g). With the probable sources allocated to each of 55 debris types, the source of 56% of all the collected debris appeared to be oceanbased and 44% was land-based. Priorities of policy measures to reduce marine debris should be different from regions to regions as the main sources of debris may differ.
The present world is now facing the challenge of proper management and resource recovery of the enormous amount of plastic waste. Lack of technical skills for managing hazardous waste, insufficient infrastructure development for recycling and recovery, and above all, lack of awareness of the rules and regulations are the key factors behind this massive pile of plastic waste. The severity of plastic pollution exerts an adverse effect on the environment and total ecosystem. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of plastic waste generation, as well as its effect on the human being and ecological system, is discussed in terms of source identification with respect to developed and developing countries. A detailed review of the existing waste to energy and product conversion strategies is presented in this study. Moreover, this study sheds light on sustainable waste management procedures and identifies the key challenges to adopting effective measures to minimise the negative impact of plastic waste.
Most marine litter monitoring surveys are based on item count, leading to an underrepresentation of larger litter. To better understand significant sources, this study conducted a volume-based marine litter survey in 2020, covering 1% of Taiwan’s 1680 km coastline. In four monitoring periods, a total of 636 m³ of marine litter was detected from which ∼70% stemmed from derelict fishing gear (DFG), ∼20% from plastic bottles and ∼10% from other waste. Survey pictures revealed 66 types of DFG which were compiled into an index. The most frequent items were hard plastic buoys from China and Taiwan. At an average concentration of 877 dm3/100 m, Taiwan showed an extremely high level of DFG pollution. Therefore, this study calls for better domestic waste management practices and the introduction of an extended producer responsibility scheme for fishing gear.
Abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is considered a major threat to ocean biodiversity. Yet, little is known of the interactive impacts of ALDFGs and urban nearshore biodiversity and habitats, especially in Southeast Asia where fisheries efforts are increasing. We identified ALDFG hotspots around Singapore–where 80% of coastal areas are urbanized or anthropogenically modified. Fishing lines and nets were the most common ALDFGs recovered; with strong correlations between ALDFG presence and beaches, intertidal, mangroves, as well as sites with significant coastal modifications. Plastic polymer nets trapped the highest organism diversity and abundance. A total of 1052 trapped individuals comprising 124 species were recovered, the majority in classes Merostomata, Actinopterygii and Malacostraca. The most abundant trapped species was Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and the highest mortality presentation was in Class Actinopterygii. This study demonstrates that ALDFGs remain a threat to marine biodiversity within urban coastal habitats and at heavily modified shorelines.
Pollution of coastal environments by anthropogenic debris is a global problem that is increasingly in the public eye. We evaluated the influence of socioeconomic and geographic factors on common debris items at a global scale. We compared debris density and socioeconomic drivers of the ten most common items reported on land and the seafloor, analyzing data from 22,508 land-based and 7,290 seafloor clean-ups and surveys across 116 and 118 countries, respectively. We found debris hotspots for different items span numerous countries across all continents. This demonstrates that the debris problem is global and heterogeneous, pointing to the transboundary nature of the issue and necessitating sub-national approaches to implementing effective solutions. Food and beverage packaging items, predominantly made from single-use plastics, accounted for much of the debris. Hotspots of individual debris items were differentially driven by socioeconomic factors. In general, total debris counts increased with the value of infrastructure, and decreased with national wealth. Highly polluted sites occurred in high-infrastructure, low-wealth locations such as Athens, Greece; Tunis, Tunisia and Lima, Peru. Based on these findings, we identify specific opportunities for policy makers and citizens alike to focus efforts aimed at reducing debris entering the environment.
The Philippines is currently ranked as the third top producer of plastic wastes, yet little research has been conducted on marine plastic pollution in this fishery-dependent, developing country. This study is the first in the nation to quantify and characterize microplastics ingested by a commercially important fish, the rabbitfish (Siganus fuscescens), in the coastal areas of Negros Oriental, central Philippines. Across all sites, the diversity of microplastic polymer types was highest in the guts of S. fuscescens from Dumaguete, a densely populated city. Microplastic particles extracted from subtidal sediment samples from Silliman Beach in Dumaguete were dominated by semi-synthetic microfibers (rayon), probably from clothing and textiles. However, these microplastic types were absent in the guts of fish, likely due to the different location and character of their feeding habitats. This study confirms for the first time the presence and diversity of microplastics in an edible finfish in the Philippines.
Microplastics have become an emerging structural pollutant to the marine environment particularly in the
Philippines owing to high plastic load. This study was carried out to determine the occurrence of microplastic
and coastal litter in Macajalar Bay, Philippines. Three coastal areas were studied namely, Opol, El Salvador City,
and Alubijid with three substations in each area. A total of nine surface sand sediment samples were collected for
microplastic analysis. Microplastics were extracted through the flotation method and preliminary identification
was carried out using a stereomicroscope. The beach litters were obtained through transect walk in a 5 m × 10 m
quadrant per area. Overall, studied microplastics were mainly angular and filament type with colors varying
from blue, black, light orange, pale white, and translucent. Litter analysis showed the dominance of plastics
across the study area with a mean cumulative coastal clean index (CCI) of 2.40 (clean).
The Philippines is one of the countries with the highest plastic waste inputs into the ocean yet there is dearth of information on the level of contamination by plastic wastes in local marine ecosystems. This study aims to provide a plastic litter profile in a local beach as an initial report on plastic waste contamination in a typical coast. Likewise, microplastic (MP) occurrence is measured to establish baseline data on MP level. Results showed that, at sampling time, the beach had a high level of plastic contamination. The Clean-coast index was calculated at 13.14 (classified under ‘dirty’) and, indeed, plastics comprised 85% of the beach litter. The most abundant plastic litter was plastic wrapper as sachet, which is a ubiquitous packaging type in the Philippines. Furthermore, microplastic count sans fibers was at 0.26 items/g, which is comparable to regional data so far.
In spatial statistics the ability to visualize data and models superimposed with their basic social landmarks and geographic context is invaluable. ggmap is a new tool which enables such visualization by combining the spatial information of static maps from Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Stamen Maps or CloudMade Maps with the layered grammar of graphics implementation of ggplot2. In addition, several new utility functions are introduced which allow the user to access the Google Geocoding, Distance Matrix, and Directions APIs. The result is an easy, consistent and modular framework for spatial graphics with several convenient tools for spatial data analysis.
Philippines closes 'cesspool' tourist island of Boracay
- Cnn
Philippines lower house approves bill taxing single-use plastics
- Neil Jerome Morales
Study reveals alarming plastic pollution problem in the Philippines
- Portsmouth News
Survey of subtidal anthropogenic marine debris (AMD) in Mayo Bay, Mati City, Davao Oriental
- Abreo